It's almost Thanksgiving! I don't think I've ever had a Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Here is my simple rustic pumpkin pie that I make with my own pumpkin pie spice mix. Most of us enjoy pumpkin pie at least once a year. Now, we might not all like this funky orange squash pie, but nonetheless, it's a Thanksgiving day dessert here to stay! There are slight variations of this sweet custard-like pie, but all in all most can agree it should have a spiced up custard-like filling in a flaky pie crust.
Pumpkin Pie...The Love or Hate Pie
I've never heard anyone claim to have a middle ground opinion on pumpkin pie. It's hard to not like most pies. You either love or hate pumpkin pie though. I've always loved pumpkin pie so I can't even begin to understand people that dislike it, but I have heard people claim to have quite a disdain for it. It must be something about the texture or the pumpkin spice flavor.
Rustic Pumpkin Pie
I believe I bake things well; I've never had serious issues with baking. I have never been good at is making my baked items very attractive though. I'm working on that and it's a constant work in progress. I will bake a delicious cake, muffins, etc, but you will not see a magazine cover ready baked good that you'll ogle over. I just don't have a knack for making my baking pretty. In my opinion though, if it's homemade that's the best part! So, if you're like me and love to bake, but get frustrated with the look of your baked goods, don't fret, all they really care about is how good it tastes. So bake on!
The Pie Making Process
As I stated earlier, I'm still no expert on the pie making process and have a lot more to learn. As with anything, practice, practice, practice...I still get frustrated at the process of making pies, but my husband doesn't complain. He quite enjoys the output, no matter how it looks. At least they all taste great. So play with it, enjoy the process, make mistakes and just learn from them. Try to have fun with your pie making and with time you'll see your pies get better and better.
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Give this Simple Rustic Pumpkin Pie a try and let me know how it worked out for you!
Simple Rustic Pumpkin Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pie dough crust for 9" pie pan chilled in the refrigerator
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1- 15 oz can 100% pure canned pumpkin
- 1- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice mix
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- *optional- glaze the exposed raw pie crust with a little milk or egg wash.
Instructions
Instructions for Pre-Baking Pie Crust (You may skip this section if you have a pre-baked crust already)
- Roll out refrigerator chilled pie dough to about 13" in diameter on a floured surface.
- Gently transfer the pie dough to pie pan, letting the edges overhang. Then trim, crimp or pinch the edges as you like making sure to leave about an inch to inch and a half over the edge for shrinkage.
- Pierce the bottom and sides of the dough with a fork a few times evenly throughout the sides and bottom of the dough.
- At this time preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Return the plated dough to the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to re-chill.
- Cut out a piece of foil to fit the bottom of the pie dough. Once the dough is done chilling line the bottom of the dough with the foil, topping with dried beans or baking weights.
- Bake the pie dough with the weights for 15 minutes, till edges are just starting to golden.
- Remove the weights (I like to use a small measuring cup to scoop them out) and return the pie dough to the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes (once the bottom just starts to golden.
- While the dough is baking this 2nd time make your pie filling.
- Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees.
- Let the dough cool while the oven heats and until the pan is cool enough to handle.
Pumpkin Pie Filling & Baking
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees with a baking sheet in it (To place your pie on during baking)
- Add pumpkin, condensed milk, brown sugar, pumpkin pie seasoning, vanilla, and salt to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. Then whisk in the eggs.
- Carefully pour your pumpkin pie filling into your prepared pie dough.
- Place the pie on the baking sheet on the lower rack in the oven. Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then decrease your temperature to 350 degrees.
- Bake the pie for 45 more minutes or until only the center is slightly jiggly.
- Once baking is complete, turn off the oven, crack open the oven door to let it cool slowly to keep it from top from cracking.
- After about an hour, transfer it to a rack and allow it to cool to room temperature till ready to serve or refrigerate.
Notes
Nutrition
[…] love baking, but pie crust and pie making has been my nemesis and one of my least enjoyable baking feats for years. I’ve […]